Sometimes we must choose to celebrate in spite of the chaos.
When my kids were little, I often marveled at how God used them to speak to me. Sometimes the most profound wisdom would come from their little mouths and I was always amazed. Now they are college students and I sometimes forget that He can still use them.
This year, due to Covid-19, there would be no attending Easter church services. I planned for us to just watch one on television in our pajamas with a cup of coffee, like we have been doing for the past few weeks. But, my college age daughter had different ideas.
She said that Easter is a big deal. She felt like we should get dressed up just like we were attending a church service and she felt like we should have a big Easter meal like we always do with deviled eggs and the good dishes. I had to admit she caught me by surprise, but I felt like she was right.
Why do we dress up on Easter and who do we dress up for? Why do we celebrate? While it’s definitely wonderful to worship and fellowship with other Christians, they shouldn’t be the motivation why we do what we do. Easter is a big feast day for Christians. It’s our holiest of days. Shouldn’t we have our feast even if it was just with our family?
We planned our menu and in the process were able to support some local restaurants that are desperately trying to keep afloat right now. We cooked some dishes and ordered some dishes and got to work together on our meal as a family.
When my daughter suggested that we watch the live stream of the church she has been attending, we agreed. We believe in the Church Universal and we don’t believe that one denomination is superior to another. We got up and got dressed and were blessed by the sermon. The pastor was young and energetic and we could see why she liked him.
We took family pictures after the service, like we always have. I wanted to remember this year where everything was so different in many ways, yet the same in others. I wanted to document our blessings amidst chaos.
Long after our meal, I thought about this year’s Easter celebration. I thought about how God has always used my children to speak to me. I saw it so often when they were little and I guess I thought maybe since they are no longer little, He would no longer use them. I can’t imagine why I would think that.
This year, He used my grown up daughter to remind me that when we have a reason to celebrate, we should pull out all the stops and celebrate. It doesn’t really matter what our circumstances are and Easter is a huge reason to celebrate, for Christians, it’s the biggest.
Sometimes I need reminding. Perhaps you do too.
Have an awesome day!
Wendy 🙂